Forever Silence
by Snarky-Teen
Summary: After Percy Jackson died in the Giant War and dissapeared from Elysium, the entire Greek Pantheon searched for him. Years later, a problem arises, and they need a new hero to motivate them to get off their lazy asses. Because this threat came slowly, took small victories, and snuck up on everyone.
1. Prologue

**I don't own PJO.**

**Chapter One**

**Artemis' POV**

* * *

I crept through the forest silently, gazing intently at an incredible eagle high up in the trees. It perched on top of a pine branch that was heavily accented with its needle-leaves; an almost impossible shot. A great challenge. Believe it or not, I've basically caught, killed, and skinned at least one of every animal known to be in a forest, that is, except for the magnificent bird of prey kind of in front of me. Too rare of a species.

Deep breath. In. Out. Focus.

I pull back the string on my bow and a silver arrow appears out of thin air, materializing gradually, silently. This was all about stealth. I closed my right eye briefly as I took aim (I shoot left-handed).

A twang echoed throughout the very small clearing and I saw a crudely made arrow fly straight towards the bird, but six inches too high and to the left.

_A clear miss._

Now imagine my astonishment when, upon hearing the classic sound of an arrow being released, the eagle launched itself into the air, practically committing suicide via impalement. The arrow pierced its chest, and it gave a blood curdling shriek and fell sixty feet to the ground. The poor bird landed with a hollow _thud_, the undertone of crunching bones accompanying choppily.

I was highly tempted to race forward, grab the prize, and run, but something held me back. If someone could shoot so well with such a horrible, crappy weapon, I wanted to stay and see who it was. (And it's obviously implied if the archer is female she has a guaranteed spot in the Hunt.)

A _boy,_ around the age of eight, with black hair and careful steps glided through the undergrowth with ease. He was almost dressed normally for a hunter: black tee, dark jeans, and a dark green cotton jacket. (Colors that correspond with the forest.) The only difference being that he had an off-white bandage wrapped tightly around his neck and no shoes. Odd. He gently picked up the still-dying creature and stroked it soothingly until it died. He placed the bird on the grass covered ground and spun around to face me. In one smooth movement, he pulled his bow off his back and had another crudely crafted arrow drawn before I even realized it was pointed my direction. He had great reflexes, and could sense me when I masked my presence from all, the markings of a truly powerful half-blood. Observation time was over.

"Peace, I mean you no harm. It appears we were hunting the same thing and I simply wished to see who caught that magnificent animal there." I gestured to the dead eagle at his feet.

He inclined his head politely, asking for more information without questioning me.

"My name is Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Archery, and the Moon, twin of Apollo. Yes," I smirked. "The Greek gods are real."

I don't know if I was awaiting a shocked display of emotions or if I wanted to scare him, but my heart plummeted when he didn't acknowledge me in any way. His face was free of any feelings. I slowly set my weapon down and waited cautiously until he did the same. The arrows might not be able to kill me, but they sure as Hades wouldn't feel like sparkles and rainbows. I relaxed when his bow touched the ground.

Suddenly, the boy plopped onto his rear end, stretched his legs out in front of him, and plucked up the bird. One by one, he pulled out feathers and sorted them into color piles. (Brown, white, and speckled.) He smiled and waved to the empty space in front of him. I took it as a request to sit.

"Since I told you my name, I think that you should introduce yourself to me. And let me know of your parentage, you reek of demigod." No answer.

"Hello? Anyone home?" No answer.

"Just answer me asshole!" He shook his head.

"No? No! You dare to refuse what a goddess tells you?" He shrugged his shoulders with a helpless little smile.

I clamped down on my jaw, making my teeth ache slightly. The boy gestured for me to come closer and I reluctantly scooted towards him a little bit. He reached to the back of his neck and fiddled with the now determined strip of torn cloth and unwrapped it gingerly.

I couldn't breathe.

I sat in a stunned silence with wide eyes because an angry, red, and jagged lined crossed thickly from the very left edge of his throat to the very right. It was recent, just starting to close completely and the scar tissue was visible just about everywhere under the skin. It had been deep, the cut. And that was when I realized that a kid, a child that was supposed to be so full of life and innocence, a little boy, had someone try to slit his throat. Some human had basically tried to rip his throat out. Somebody tried to kill an innocent child.

A warm, vicious fire burned sharply in my heart. It was foreign, and it filled me with unnatural rage, so I tried to push it aside before I realized that it was an instinct flaring up. One I had only felt briefly when one of my hunters was killed, injured, or sick. My motherly instinct roared into action and I immediately followed.

I twisted my back around, searching through my hunting bag because I could've sworn that I had some nectar and ambrosia in it . . .

I gave up quickly, though, why waste time searching when I could just summon some anyways. I turned my attention to the nameless child and was surprised to see wide sea-green eyes and the boy scrambling backwards.

"Hush, child. Fear not, for I won't hurt you." Maybe sudden movements weren't the best idea with a traumatizes kid.

He shook his head vehemently and picked up his bow and strung an arrow. Flawlessly, he drew back and fired. The arrow flew straight towards me, hurdling closer and closer while I sat there too shocked to move because I couldn't believe he would have the nerve to actually fire at me. The bland wooden arrow flew over my right shoulder, ruffling auburn strands of hair, and into something behind me.

"Ow! You fuckin' asshole! What the Hades is your problem? That hurt for the gods sake!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, it was only my lieutenant, and half sister, Thalia. I glanced behind me, only really half caring. There stood Thalia, well she was hunched over from pain, with the child's arrow sticking out of her thigh.

"Thalia. Language." She turned to the boy, "You. Apologize."

"Sorry, milady."

The boy just walked up to Thalia, and tapped her shoulder (which made her stand up).

"Well, boy, apologize for shooting me." She spat savagely.

He nodded, then did something that surprised Artemis herself. He ripped out the arrow. Just grabbed it and pulled and then carefully placed it back with his others. Thalia howled and spat curses at the poor boy.

Meanwhile, he just walked to his previous spot and sat in front of me in his previous spot, returning to his piles of feathers.

I turned my attention to Thalia. Her eyes were flashing sparks and her hands were clenched into fists. The boy looked up and saw Thalia. A flash of remorse flitted across his little face. She said nothing as she watched him make his way back up to her, but her eyes widened dramatically when he wrapped his arms around her middle in a hug. He held on for a couple seconds, then let go and backed up.

"I-I'm sor-ugh." He gagged and red began welling up slowly underneath the mark on his neck. He clutched his throat with both hands, one towards the base and pushing upwards, and the other right under his chin pushing down. "Ree."

I flew to his side. "Let me see." I demanded. He swayed a little on his feet and plopped onto the dirt, then let go of the skin. Blood gushed. The wound reopened. I could hear Thalia retching somewhere behind me. "Lay down." He grimaced, but complied. I summoned some nectar and poured it on his neck, simultaneously cleansing it and healing it. I watched the skin slowly stitch itself back together and the blood flow come to a halt. "Don't speak until it's completely healed, understand?"

He nodded about half a centimeter. Smart boy.

"Thalia, grab me a stick roughly the size of a pencil. And you, boy, do you know how to write?"

In response he took the stick from Thalia.

"What is your name?"

He scratched at the ground, smudged a spot, then scratched again. I studied it. Ancient Greek.

_Perseus_.

Thalia piped up, "Why did you shoot me."

_I don't like people_.

She chuckled. "Why did you try to speak?" It was clear she was still in shock over his wound.

_I felt like a bad person because I was mean to you._

Enough pleasantries. "Who is your godly parent, Perseus?"

_I don't know. Hey, do I know you guys from somewhere?_

"Probably not, right . . ." I drifted off as I looked back at my lieutenant for confirmation. Her eyes were filling with tears and she seemed short of breath.

"Milady, I need to IM Nico, please."

_Why? Who's Niko?_

"It's spelt with a 'c.' And I need to tell him something." She looked at me with wide and imploring eyes. "Please, sister." I sighed and snapped my fingers, creating a rainbow. Thalia threw in a drachma. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Nico di Angelo, probably somewhere in the Underworld."

The rainbow shifted, becoming darker, and a male's shape began to form.

"Nico!"

The boy spun around and smiled. "Hey, Thals, how's it goin'?"

"I found him."

* * *

**Hey, people, I know I went haitus with Maximum Ride story, but I can't figure out what to do next and how to write it. I'll return to it eventually. (More than likely after The Blood of Olympus comes out because my mind will finally be HoO free!) Anyways, I want to know if I should continue this or leave it a oneshot. That could work too. The first three chapters are written and I'll probably update once or twice a week (more if inspiration hits). PM or review your feedback. I don't have a beta, so TELL ME IF I MISS SOMETHING GRAMMAR RELATED that way I can fix it. **

**Before the ridiculously long A/N and the bolded words at the top, my word count is: 1,684!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter Two**

**I don't own PJO or HoO**

**AnonymousChase - Yes. Yes it is.**

**poetrygirl22 - I will put Annabeth in this story, but I don't know if I'll make her and Percy a couple, though.**

**Doughnutswilderness - Thanks for reviewing!**

**Guest - Don't die! Who else will leave me reviews?!**

**Artemis' POV**

* * *

My first thought when I found out the boy was the missing Perseus Jackson: The bastard went for rebirth.

And it makes sense, not being able to find him after he died in the Giant War, because Hades had set up a direct path to Elysium for the demigods that died in said war. He probably headed for the river Lethe as soon as he got there!

As I continued to think about what he had done (going for rebirth) and why, Thalia and Nico's conversation faded into background noise and I stared at the new Perseus.

The entire Greek Pantheon had searched for five years for the Lost Hero's soul before giving up. But here he sat, right in front of me, playing with and examining all the feathers from the damn bird he shot. (And I thought he was supposed to be bad at archery.)

I gave myself a slight mental shake, no point in fretting over the past. I tuned back into the conversation Thalia was having with her male cousin when I heard a, "Where are you at? I'm coming now."

I growled and whipped around, sending him a dagger-sharp glare. "You will do no such thing, Lieutenant of Hades. He is injured terribly, and I will not stand for you barraging him with unnecessary and useless questions based on my inference of his soul being rebirthed." I took a deep breath, no need to explain further, a son of Hades at the very least (not to mention he was a minor god now) should know what happened to one's memory should they choose rebirth: erased. "Surely you could understand what that means?" He nodded his assent. "So, boy, stay there at least until he is healed."

Nick cowered away from me in fear after I finished my rant. "As you wish, Lady Artemis." He bowed his head submissively. "But may I ask where he will stay?" He thought over my words and widened his eyes comically. "And what do you mean 'until he is healed'?"

"It appears that someone attempted to slit his throat." I glanced at Perseus and thought it over. Yes that could work. "And he will stay with my Hunt."

"What?!"

I closed my eyes in what Apollo calls 'an exaggerated slow blink'. "I said that it appeared that someone tried to—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get that. You said he'll stay in the Hunt? The group known for hating the entirety of the male species because they're 'vile and disgusting pigs'?"

"Hey, you said it. Not me." But I saw the incredulous look Thalia gave me for that idea.

I shifted uncomfortably, then hardened my expression. Nobody should ever doubt a goddess, much less me. Especially a male. "Watch it, boy. The Hunt does as I say, and if I tell them to at the very least ignore him instead of trying to kill him, they will." I swiped through the iris message quickly, leaving a shell shocked Nico to fizzle away into droplets of mist.

"Milady, is bringing him to—"

"Thalia. Not now." I turned my attention back to Perseus, only to see him hunched over one of his arrows and using a knife and sap from a tree to create the fletching. I nudged Thalia with my shoulder and then pointed to him. "Look," I whispered, "He's using the sap from the trees to finish his arrows. Ingenious. Even though he knows I'm a goddess and procure anything he might need— not that I would —he's making his own. And even if he is male, he was once a man all respected and can be taught to be the same way by us. Shouldn't he have the chance to be the only good of his kind?"

She nodded and turned to Perseus. "I'm tired of thinking of you as Perseus in my mind, do you have a shorter nickname?" Her voice was rather loud and abrupt, so it surprised me when he gave no sign of being startled. I also happened to agree greatly with her statement, Perseus is a mouthful.

Quickly, he used the tip of his knife to draw lines in the ground, then went back to his arrow, this time he drew symbols and designs on the shaft. Thalia stepped forward and glanced at the ground and raised an eyebrow speculatively. I get her hidden question, 'He can understand Ancient Greek already?'

"What did he say?"

She cleared her throat, "Percy." His eyes flickered up at her before he focused again on drawing. At least we know he responds.

"Well, Percy," I start a little awkwardly. How do I ask a boy to join a previously all-female group of man-hating hunters?

He sighed in annoyance, shoulders slumping on the exhale. Swiftly, he put the arrow back in a backpack type of quiver made of animal skins, shoved the feathers in his pockets (all that sorting for nothing), and wrote once again on the ground.

_I don't think I'll have a problem swearing off the company of men_.

* * *

**Word Count: 857**

**I know, waaay shorter than the first, but I really think that I ended at a perfect spot. Also, question time. Should I do a different character's POV? If so, tell me who by clicking the review button below. (Keep in mind I am a girl and writing from a dude perspective is significantly harder for me and might decrease the quality (if I do say so myself) of my writing. You are warned!)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait. I have no legitimate excuses, but I will post chapter 4 as soon as I get this one up. Sorry they're both short, and I'll [try to] post every Friday from now on. Don't be afraid to review to remind me, seriously, I had this written and because I typed it up I thought I posted it. Then like a week later when I typed up 4, BAM not posted. (Then I forgot to post both of them.)**

**Don't own PJO or HoO.**

**Artemis' P.O.V.**

I stood in the middle of camp with Thalia, and Percy lurked at the tree line, half hidden in shadows. I had to admit, he could be a semi-decent addition to the Hunt. It was almost as if he created shadows that had to cling to him for their lives, and as dramatic as it sounded, it was the most apt description.

Anyways. (Here I had to give myself a mental shake.) Stay on topic.

Me. Standing in the middle of camp.

"Listen here, hunters!" I took a nerve-settling breath. "We have a new potential member, and I expect all of you to treat them with the respect they earned in their past life so that we may teach them to be noble again."

Almost immediately a low-volumed chatter started up, and even a few of the girls looked around to try to spot a new face. Subtly, I glanced sideways at Thalia, then nodded to the group gathered before us. If anyone could convince them not to brutally rip Percy apart as soon as they saw him, it would be her. Strictly so she could beat him up herself while sparring when he grows older.

She cleared her throat quite loudly, drawing their collective attention once more. "This recruit is slightly different than others. For one, they . . ." Thalia worked at trying to swallow past the emotions building up. "Had their throat slit, but survived somehow, and was more than likely beaten when they were even younger." She took a deep breath, as if trying to prepare herself. "They're eight years old, and it's a boy."

All at once, the sympathy shimmering in their eyes hardened into an unforgiving glare. Cries of outrage followed the stoney looks. How could they think like that? How could their emotions towards a girl who went through Tartarus be more sympathetic than a man who did the same?

Little embers of rage flickered weakly to life inside of me. "Enough! I decided that he went through to much pain after I found him. So I gave him a place in the Hunt. I am your patron, and you all will do as I say, not as you believe." I paused for breath and soothed the fire devouring cognitive thought in my mind. "Should you have an issue showing compassion for the reincarnate of Perseus Jackson, savior of Olympus, let me know. Until then, bear it and leave him alone until he can defend himself."

Throughout my outburst, the girls quieted and stilled before gasping in shock. The only reason I ever heard their reaction was because they did it simultaneously, amplifying the sound.

Thalia decided to intervene once more, "Go on. Disperse." With the finality of my ramble and her verbal dismissal, the crowd dissolved slowly as they retreated and returned to their previous activities. Phoebe cautiously approached me with a slight grin on her face.

"So Fish Face is really back?" The question was directed to thalia, but I answered.

"Yes, but he is no longer a son of Poseidon. He should be lurking somewhere in the treeline," I glanced over in his general direction quickly, "though he seems to be somewhat decent at hiding within the shadows. It makes me wonder who sired him."

"Not Hades!" Thalia blurted out, seemingly thinking aloud. "He doesn't smell like death, but a true test would be to see how the wolves react to him."

"True." Phoebe conceded. "But couldn't his godly parent have been female this time around?"

"You make a good point, Phoebe. Only one way to find out." I said. "Percy you may come out now."

The trees sighed in disappointment and soft footfalls could soon be heard. At least he was already proficient at walking as a hunter would; he wouldn't mess up leaves rustled and parted, and Percy stepped out.

"Percy." Phoebe said emotionlessly. "My name is Phoebe, and I've got a question for you." He nodded. "Did you live with your real parent?"

Percy shrugged an arrow out of his quiver and wrote on the ground _Yes_.

"Male?" Thalia jumped in, and Percy tapped his response again.

"I was right!" Phoebe flashed a grin and pumped her fist in the air. "So that eliminates all males gods, leaving . . . we should make a list." Thalia laughed at her realization.

_That's a good idea._

"Okay, Thalia go get paper."

**Word count without AN's: 733**


	4. Chapter 3

**I don't own PJO or HoO**

**The list is written by Thalia.**

List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

Athena

Aphrodite

Demeter

Persephone

Hecate

Iris

Nike

Nemesis

Hebe

The Muses

Eris

Harmonia

Amphitrite

Asteria

Eos

Dike

Eirenne

Hygieia

* * *

*In light of recent findings such as hair color, eye color, and personality tendencies, the list needs to be updated leaving us the following goddesses ineligible and why:

Athena- Percy doesn't have blond hair or grey eyes.

Persephone- She is faithful to Hades.

Hebe- She is faithful to Heracles.

The Muses- Percy crossed them off.

Harmonia- Percy is too ready to fight, even if the outcome doesn't bring harmony/peace to the situation.

Amphitrite- She is faithful to Poseidon.

Hygieia- Percy isn't too keen on maintaining his cleanliness. As is expected from an eight year old boy.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

Aphrodite

Demeter

Hecate

Iris

Nike

Nemesis

Eris

Asteria

Eos

Dike

Eirenne

**# &%$**

NOTE: Phoebe, Artemis, and myself (Thalia) were highly tempted to cross of Asteria and Aphrodite but decided not to because even though it's highly unlikely Percy is offspring to one of them, we didn't have enough evidence to prove it.

* * *

NOTE: Months after the second draft, we gathered the proof needed to cross off the following goddesses and why:

Aphrodite- She was busy with Ares the night of Percy's birth.

Asteria- Percy can't tell, on a good day, if it was about to rain even if storm clouds were gathered in the sky, and Zeus' bolt was cutting through them. In short, Percy is not prophetic.

Eos- Percy is more compatible with the dark.

Dike- Percy's morals contain an extremely wide variety of shades of grey.

Eirenne- Percy has no explicit desire for peace, even on a small scale.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

Demeter

Hecate

Iris

Nike

Nemesis

Eris

* * *

NOTE: Close to a year after the last update, Artemis managed to get a straight answer out of Demeter and Nemesis regarding their whereabouts the night Percy was born. We will also cross off other goddess's names due to attributes of Percy's. List of the goddesses we crossed off and why:

Demeter- Busy.

Iris- Percy has no affinity for rainbows specifically.

Nemesis- Busy.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

Hecate

Nike

Eris

* * *

NOTE: A year and a half after the last update. Today Percy lost a sparring match for the first time after basic training.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

Hecate

Eris

* * *

NOTE: Percy is good at creating really anything, including discord, but not just that.

NOTE: Hecate is not the mother of Percy.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

* * *

NOTE: Artemis confided in Apollo. He pointed out that Hecate was technically a friendly Titan.

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy: Friendly Titan Edition:

**# &%$**

Mnemosyne

Themis

Phoebe

* * *

NOTE: Percy is now almost fourteen. All of the Titans have been crossed off the list.

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy:

**# &%$**

*Updated List of Potential Mothers to Percy: Friendly Titan Edition:

**# &%$**

NOTE: Wherever Percy's mom is, she is well hidden. Whoever Percy's mom is, did a good job of not existing.

**Word count without AN's: 514**

**Sorry it's short, but it allows for Percy to age quickly without the extra tedious chapters. Next chapter will be longer, and chapter 5 going up soon!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Just to let you know, cchapter lengths will vary depending on where I find a good place to end. If its really short, I'll try to add more before the stop, but I'd I can't, oh well.**

Artemis stood in front of her gathered group of hunters with Percy at her side. He tapped his fingers against the side of his thigh in anticipation. He was going to pledge his life to be a Hunter of Artemis, and, in his opinion, it was about damn time. He should've been sworn in when he turned twelve, but Artemis said that the ceremony wasn't ready, she had to find a way for him to be able to speak. There had to be witnesses. So, two long years later, she finally found a way to make the oath valid, and it supposedly took a great deal of preparation.

He thought he could just sign a contract like the mortals do, and he told her his idea, but it was immediately shot down. 'It wasn't binding enough.' (In quote of the Moon Goddess.) Why? He had no idea.

Actually . . . He had a small idea. A River Styx oath is more than likely the most binding promise of all time, and if he were to swear to the Styx he would remain loyal to Artemis, then Zeus can't argue him being in the Hunt because he could be a spy or a threat. Good reason. Very thought out. He had no problems with it.

"Perseus Jackson stands before us today to swear his loyalty to me and join our Hunt. As you all should know, he is mute due to an unfortunate injury–" Percy fumed when the goddess mentioned (without saying the word 'father' directly) his father. "–I had to find a different way for him to vocalize his oath on the Styx." She glanced at Percy with worry in her eyes, he could tell. Concern was shimmering underneath the stone-cold facade she put over her emotions.

"I will establish a psychic link with all of the Hunt. I have been wishing to do this for some time. Not only will it allow almost instantaneous communication, but it will allow for other members to feel someone's emotions, if they were strong enough. No more hiding injuries, Phoebe and Thalia." Several of the girls chuckled at her statement and the rest looked highly concerned. "I have no doubt that quite a few of you girls wish to think freely without having to worry over causing insult, and I have prepared for that."

Percy breathed a sigh of relief, nobody needed to know about his nightmares. (Oddly enough, they took the form of actual mares in his mind, but instead of flesh and bone, they were made of thick, rolling shadows.) His mind was a fairly complicated place. How would she do it, though? A mental room that all shared?

He was close.

"The link will take the form of a silver ribbon that has a strand of color that relates to the person it's for. I have no idea what colors they will be, for they reflect one's personality, but mine, for instance will be purely silver. Thalia's might be silver with a strand of electric blue. We will have to experiment before the ceremony."

Percy was nervous. Would he get a barf-colored strand because of his horrible nasty past? Or would it be black like he was soulless? And the speaking! Would he know how to speak in his own mind? Would his voice sound ridiculous like this one demigod he ran across once? (The poor kid had a voice so high Percy first thought he was a masculine-looking girl.) Gods, he hoped not.

"Um, mi'lady. When will you form the link?"

"It is already done, Rebecca. Just unactivated."

"Oh."

"Should we start now?" Phoebe asked, sounding a little overwhelmed.

Artemis nodded before spouting off instructions on how to find the connection. Percy, as soon as she mentioned the link being already formed, had closed his eyes and scoured the fringes of his mind. (It couldn't be in the center because he hadn't even dared to go there himself. It was too dark. Too unknown. Maybe he would one day.) The edge of his mind was frayed all around like a piece of worn cloth, little bits of string hung off and dangled into the chasm surrounding. He didn't know if anyone else had these, but he could feel one of the slots was taken.

A silver string that pulsed in time to his heartbeat weaved to his mind and led to a magnificent oak door. Percy conjured a mental wisp of himself to interact with the door. The apparition held his arms out to the side and walked across the link like a tightrope walker. Percy felt warm and safe in this area of his mind, and knew this would soon become his sanctuary. The door opened before him by itself to reveal a wonderful sight.

Dozens of silver strings wound everywhere in the room, and all of them, in one way or another, were touching the other links.

_Percy?_

He spun in the direction of the voice, eyes wide open in surprise. There stood Artemis in her own wisp.

_You shouldn't be able to come here. Your conscious should be embedded in a link._ She looked very perplexed and he felt a little sorry for her.

_I don't have a consciousness._

_Don't lie to me! _She snapped. _All mortals have a consciousness, only gods have a mindscape. Tell me you do not have a mindscape._ She demanded.

Percy remained silent.

A long moment of silence followed, and Artemis appeared to be thinking this through.

_Uh . . . I don't know how to phrase this correctly. Do you want to- to investigate? Yeah that doesn't sound too weird. _Percy fumbled through his question. He didn't feel comfortable letting someone into his mind; he hadn't corralled the Mares yet, and he didn't even know how far he would be able to go towards the center. No doubt where she wanted to go first.

_Only if you don't feel weird about it._

_It'll be . . . different, and I don't know what'll turn up._ He directly avoided the word 'weird' to make sure Artemis wouldn't feel bad poking around in his thoughts.

_You don't have control of your own mindscape?!_ She asked._ Every– never-you-mind. Take me as far as you can._

_Okay!_ Percy smiled. He could do that. He could show her all of his favorite places. Follow me.

The door was harder to find going out, and he thought it was because he didn't really want to leave. Especially if he was bringing someone along with him. His wisp shook his head and muttered to himself.

_Is this how you are in your mind, Percy?_

_No, mi'lady._ The wisp answered.

_Why is he here then?_

_Isn't it easier to follow someone you can see?_ Percy was genuinely confused. Wouldn't it be harder to follow a voice that sounded like it was coming from everywhere?

_Yes, it is. Don't worry about it._ She seemed worried about it. _I was just curious_.

He didn't respond, but continued to lead her towards the center of his mind. He looked around with great interest, his wisp did too. He had never been in this area before, the Mares had always stopped him. Artemis seemed to be holding them away somehow. Maybe it was her aura? Or it was probably just because she was new and they didn't know what to make of her yet.

Either way, he found that showing her around was far less horrible than he thought it would be.

_Where are we going?_ Artemis asked.

_To be honest I have no idea, but we're heading to the middle. I think anyways . . ._

Her apparition stopped suddenly. _We're being followed._ She looked cautious.

_Of course we are, mi'lady. The Mares always follow me around. I mean, normally they try to trample me to death, but I think they're scared of you!_ Percy's wisp grew a grin on his face.

_I think we should leave now, Percy. _

_Uh, I guess. Lead the way._ He didn't know why he felt upset, but he did. Maybe she wouldn't like him now because she knew how crazy he could become with a single misstep. His wisp flickered then disappeared.

The Mares grew restless, and his voice echoed everywhere in his mindscape. _RUN!_

She didn't hesitate. A bow materialized in her hand and she darted off to where he could feel the link. The Mares took off after her, and they made Percy irritated.

Artemis, a goddess, was in his mind. She should be safe, even from his Night Mares. He scanned the situation quickly. All was not good. They were gaining on her, and fast. He needed to find a way to tame them, something different than peace. Force. He scrambled suddenly, a risky idea forming in his mind.

Saddles appeared on all of the horses, and his wisp returned, this time with a bridle in its hand and on the lead mare's back. He put the bit in its mouth and pulled.

Slowly the horse eased off on the speed and came to a canter. The others, seeing their leader calm, followed suit. Percy felt triumphant. It took him years, but he managed to do it.

He tamed his mind.

**Word count without AN's: 1,542**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thanks to Amber Ember 7 and missawesome-demigodish for their suggestions and actually helping out a little! *disappointed looks to the silent ones in the crowd* Thanks for reading everyone!**

**Don't own PJO or HoO.**

**Nico's POV (third person)**

To put it bluntly, Nico was nervous.

Thalia just IM'ed him again, this time with the go-ahead to visit. Percy. His cousin. That he hasn't seen in fourteen years. And kind of doesn't remember him, like at all. Now that he thinks about it, Percy doesn't remember anybody at all, not Annabeth, not Jason, or the rest of the Seven, or the rest of Camp. Should he even visit? He had asked Hades if visiting and seeing and knowing the people from his past life would jack up his brain. His father didn't know for sure because he had never set up a direct path for demigods before, but he didn't think it would fry the poor kids brain. Not to mention he's been hanging around Thalia, Phoebe, and Artemis all of this time (besides the first eight years), and they haven't called him yet about a brain-dead Percy.

Anyways, now he couldn't decide. Should he shadow travel directly into camp, or would it better (for Nico's physical health) to land outside of camp and walk in screaming "I surrender!", or "I'm hear on request!", or even "Don't kill me! I come in peace."

Yup. That sounded good.

Three disorientating seconds of crushing and nauseating darkness later, he appeared in a forest maybe a mile away from where Thalia told him to be. Should he put his hands up now, or when he got closer to camp. Closer to camp, he nodded to himself. His arms would be tired from holding them up on the long headed off, ready to re-meet the son of (who? He forgot to ask) somebody and talk to Thalia.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the boy that was following him from the trees until his face was suddenly in NIco's vision.

"Geah!" He jumped back and drew his sword in surprise.

The boy didn't make any noise, but Nico had a feeling that he was laughing at him silently. Nico watched as the kid swung himself back up to the tree branch, even though he was hanging by his ankles, and it shouldn't be possible at all. (Nico was not jealous at all.) Then the boy jumped down and gazed at him. Nico's breath caught in his throat when his eyes met the boy's. Percy. He reminds me of Percy. He scrambled to put the sword away. Now that he wasn't shocked and about to attack, he could look closer. He had the same messy black hair, green eyes, and tan skin, but this time around he carried an empty silver quiver and a silver bow. This was definitely new-life Percy, the one that lives like a hunter with a moon goddess and her group of merry man-haters.

"I'm Nico, son of, and Lieutenant to, Hades." He stuck his hand out to shake. New-life Percy backed away skittishly and eyed his hand wearily like it was a snake. "It's okay, nevermind." He lowered his hand slowly, careful to not startle Percy again. Nico felt like hitting himself in the face with one of the readily available trees, Percy grew up in an abusive household, even if it was six years ago, and those things had to leave lasting memories. "What's your name?"

Percy straightened and reached for his empty quiver and a silver arrow materialized out of nothing一 so that's how the Hunters never run out of arrows 一and gripped it like a pencil.

_My name is Perseus._

A wave of shock rushed through him. Not only the new-life Percy looked like old-life Percy, but they shared the same name as well. That's never supposed to happen. What if he remembers?

"Do you know Thalia, Perseus?"

The reincarnate nodded.

"Can you take me to see her?"

Percy shrugged.

"Awesome."

"Nico! It took you long enough!" Thalia approached him with the Percy slightly behind her after he broke the treeline.

"Thank you." He told Percy, then turned to Thalia. "We need to talk."

She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, but he stood firm. He, Thalia, and Artemis needed to talk without Percy or the Hunt eavesdropping. Thalia finally nodded her consent.

She gave Percy a look, and Nico could've sworn some silent talking was going on, but that was impossible. What would they do? Blinking twice means 'WTF'? Or, seven second stare means 'Hey'? He rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the small part of him that felt a little hurt that he wasn't included in the communication.

Percy gave a little nod, waved a -what Nico thought to be a goodbye-, and headed off in a seemingly random-looking direction. "Where's he going?" He flapped a hand in Percy's general area. "And can I call him Percy instead of Perseus?"

"Off to go get Artemis, stupid. And I don't care what you call him, except he's not a son of Poseidon anymore, so nothing related to the sea."

"THere goes all of my nickname ideas." He muttered, and then spoke up a little louder so she could hear him. "What's up with the whole, staring-at-each-other-with-facial-expressions thing?"

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, yeah. Artemis made a psychic link with all of the Hunters so we could talk to Percy without him writing it down. It's kind of hard to yell, 'Look out!' when nobody notices you writing loudly."

Okay. She rambled. "Look there's Lady Artemis."

"Thalia you needed me, but couldn't simply contact me through the connection?"

"Percy, out of my mind!" Thalia said sharply. "This conversation is not for you. Stay away from Lady Artemis' mind too."

NIco stood there silently as he watched Percy, Thalia, and Artemis stare, glare, and have their mental battle-of-the-wills. It was strange, but a little entertaining. At first, Thalia and Artemis were standing side-by-side, glaring at Percy. Thalia was, he guessed, talking first because she was breathing heavily like she does when she rants and making aggravated hand motions. Then, it was probably Percy's turn to speak, explain himself, and try to win the argument. He must to have struck a chord with Artemis because her eyes softened slightly like she was sympathizing with him and she uncrossed her arms. Immediately Thalia turned to her patron with a I-can't-believe-you're-buying-his-crap look that made even Nico feel inferior. Percy and Artemis made contact, stood next to each other, and teamed up against Thalia, who sighed in defeat.

"Fine!" She threw up her hands, causing NIco to flinch back a bit. He remembered how many time she accidentally shocked him when she did that. "You guys win." Her gaze landed on him and honed in with an anger-fueled vengeance. "Why didn't you help me back there? It was your idea to talk without him in the first place!"

"Uh . . . " was his elegant reply. Luckily, Percy tapped Thalia on the shoulder with mischief in his eyes.

"WHAT? How could I have had an entire mental conversation without realizing it?" She demanded, turning to him for an answer that he didn't have. He shrugged to show her that.

The moon goddess intervened before her lieutenant could go off again. "What was the topic that inspired this argument, son of Hades?"

"Don't talk to Percy . . ." He trailed off uncertainly, then put his hands on the kid's ears. "About his past life. He might remember, and then his soul might try to live in two times at once."

Artemis winced.

"Uh, Nico," Thalia said, "Percy heard you."

"And the child is understandably upset. Thali, myself, and you, boy, will explain this concept to him."

"How will I talk to Percy if I can't hear him? No disrespect intended, Lady Artemis." He tacked on the last bit when he saw the goddess' enraged look and decided he didn't want to be a furry little jackalope.

"Since the conversation will be between the three of us, Thalia or myself will repeat Percy's responses and questions out loud to you."

"Great." Thalia broke the decidedly short, but awkward silence. "Now that it's all settled, should we head to your tent mi'lady?"

Artemis sighed. "Yes, I suppose so." She looked miffed at having a male in her quarters; Nico followed from a safe distance away.

As the last one to enter the tent, he closed the flap behind him. When he looked up, all of his friends? Acquaintances? He didn't know what to call them. Anyways, they were all looking up at him expectantly. Again, confusion. Why were they all staring at him like he had the answer to life.

His look must have conveyed his confusion because Thalia said, "Percy said, 'You initiated this dilemma, tell us what it was for.'" She had tried to deepen her voice to make it seem more masculine, but only succeeded in sounding ridiculous, he tried not to snicker. Even Artemis, much to Nico's shock, smiled, amused by her lieutenant's antics.

"Well, Thalia said I could come to visit today, so I was on my way here. I decided that I like having my body parts and didn't want to be shot up like a pincushion and shadow traveled a mile away from camp." He told Lady Artemis. He didn't look her in the eyes, though. She still freaked him out.

Percy nodded with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Yeah, that adds up. I met up with him a little less than a mile away." He and Thalia were wide-eyed. It was her mouth that moved, but the voice came out was slightly deeper and more youthful than Thalia's. Artemis squeezed her eyes shut and put a hand on her head.

"Percy, we've been over this. Don't lean on or touch the ribbons while you're talking. It's like invading someone's mind, and it's rude."

_I'm . . . ry. Didn . . . n to!_

"Still, all the same, apologize to Thalia."

_Sor . . . Tha . . . you know . . . n to._

Thalia opened her mouth to do something, but Nico wouldn't find out. He held up his hand to silence her. "Wait. Please." Though Thalia and Artemis were glaring at him, they didn't speak. He pointed at Percy. "You. Say something."

_Some . . . g._

"The connection is spotty, but I can hear him."

Thalia, in his opinion, looked shocked. She got a little pale(r), her eyes were wide, and her jaw was slack. Artemis, on the other hand, looked excited. Almost giddy. It freaked him out, just a little tiny bit. The most man-hating, cold goddess was giddy. Happy. Excited. These words were not created with her in mind, he thought. Maybe a puppy, but not Artemis.

"Percy, do you remember the frayed edges around your mind?"

_It's my . . . nd._

"Well," she said, ignoring the weird questioning looks he and Thalia were giving her, "I now believe that your mind adapted to being brutally made mute and transformed into a mindscape. And the edges are really potential slots for future mental connections for speech."

"Mindscape?" He mouthed to his cousin, whose confusion was also worn plainly on her face. She shrugged her shoulders like she had no clue what the Tartarus was going on, but he had a feeling one of her many, possibly horrible, ideas was about to come to life.

A light went on in Thalia's eyes.

"So now that Percy can make connections to others by himself . . . "

Nico caught on quickly, "Try to establish a full mental connection to me."

Percy closed his eyes, and Nico assumed he was searching for his— uh. Weird. His mind was shifting . . . on the edge of his consciousness. He thought. Maybe.

_Can you hear me now?_

"Yeah, clearly."

"He needs to practice with others that he doesn't already share a link with."

_Your link is surprisingly pink._

"I think it's time the camp knew about this."


	7. Chapter 6

**At the the end, I'm not very specific with a certain detail, and I'll explain why if you read the AN at the bottom.**

**Don't own PJO or HoO**

**Percy's POV (third person)**

A hunting horn echoed throughout the entirety of Camp Half-Blood. Satyrs and nymphs stopped what they were doing and looked towards Half-Blood Hill. The older campers groaned and the younger campers rested their hands on their weapons wearily and the new recruits were tense with fear.

Percy knew all of this because he saw it as he, Artemis, and the rest of the Hunters walked into Camp. He figured that since they had such a cool signal to warn that they were coming that surely they must have a cool, dramatic entrance to go with it, but they didn't. They walked in normally, in fact pretty quietly.

Chiron, a pudgy man with watery eyes, and Nico一 he shadow traveled ahead to give the trainer of heroes a fair warning 一came to greet them.

"Greetings, Lady Artemis, Hunters." Chiron's piercing gaze landed on him, and, for the briefest moment, be got a weird flash of deja vu accompanied by a whiff of coffee. "And hello to you as well, young hero." Percy smiled shyly in response.

"Hello, Chiron. As I assume the son of Hades told you, we are here with a specific goal in mind that all of my Hunters are aware of of." They all nodded behind her to further prove her statement.

"Actually," Nico said with a tremor of trepidation, "I didn't have time. You all got here faster than I thought." Nico pulled on the collar of his shirt and Artemis didn't look happy.

"Fine I shall do so myself. Hunters put your things in the cabin."

_Except you Percy._

He pouted. He had been wanting (and waiting patiently) to see the cabin. The others said it was awesome, especially at night when the moon came out, but he knew not to argue with her in front of non-Hunters. It would ruin her 'stone-cold' persona that she gave off.

"Chiron, I would like to speak with you in the Big House. Dionysis, you filthy pig, stay here."

Percy, grinned but bit back the huge smile that was to follow. The now-identified wine god squinted at him, and his red nose scrunched up in a gross way. "What's so funny, brat?"

He shrugged, still fighting not to grin. He didn't know why he thought it was so funny, maybe the way she just said it so matter-of-factly.

"Speak up, boy!"

He remained in place, but shook his head no.

_Do you want me to intervene, Percy?_

_Nah, it's okay. I want to freak him out just a little. Thanks, though, mi'lady._

Dionysus grew a little more red with anger, "Now you listen here, brat. I am still a god and you will show some respect. Now speak."

Casually, Percy tilted his head back to watch a sparrow fly overhead. His scar was way more visible when he looked up.

A couple gasps later, the bird was gone, and he had a confident smirk plastered on his face.

"He cannot speak, you simpleton, and he is part of my Hunt. Under my protection. You may not do anything to harm him, including a painless death." Then she set off towards the Big House with a firm hand planted on his shoulder.

_You handled that very well. I'm proud._

His smile was so wide it hurt his cheeks. _Thanks! I don't want to set up a link with the 'filthy pig'. Can I just talk to Chiron? _He asked.

_I see no issue with that. Your goal is to make three connections, other than Chiron, that you would enjoy talking through. _She replied as she opened the front door to a baby blue house.

He looked around in, not awe, but something close. There was a fireplace, a ping-pong table, and a stuffed leopard head mounted above the fireplace. He looked closer at the head and it snarled at him. He flinched back at the unexpectedness of the noise.

"Fear not, Percy. It is only one of Dionysus' pets." Artemis said, trying to console him.

Percy nodded his acknowledgement.

He poked around the living room more, this time more cautiously, while the moon goddess sat down on top of the ping-pong table. Not too long later, they heard the door open and close, and Chiron announced his presence, along with a strange noise he couldn't identify.

"Lady Artemis, what do you need to talk to me about? Is it regarding the boy you keep with you?"

"I do not 'keep him', he has joined my Hunt with a stricter set of rules he must follow to prevent any一" she bristled and sat up straighter, like she was protecting a wounded pride, "一 Orion-like instances from occurring once more."

"Ah, I see. What is his name?" Chiron asked as he rolled in on a wheelchair. Strange indeed, but at least he knew what the noise was. "Oh. I didn't realize we would be talking with him in the same room." He said as his eyes caught sight of Percy.

"That is fine, Chiron." She paused and seemed unable to find where to start. He could help out a little with that.

_Mi'lady, should we start with the mental connection?_

"Yes, that's a good place to start. Easiest to explain as well." Chiron looked at her strangely, and Percy felt sympathy for the centaur. Nco had told him that he gave no clue he was even conversing mentally because, in quote of the strange man, 'he had a scary-good poker face.' In other words, it made people look insane when they suddenly responded to what he 'said'.

"I allowed Percy in my Hunt," she started carefully, "because when I found him, his neck had just barely healed over from being slit by his father. He was eight and, because of that cruelty, is now mute." Percy couldn't help but feel that she was laying it on thick. His mortal parent wasn't that bad, was he? Didn't most kids have punishment for speaking out of line? His was just a little harsher, he was still alive wasn't he? "I do not know the events leading up to the incident, as he has not told me yet. But, there was no instantaneous way for him to give warnings or simply speak, so I created a link for mental correspondence. Percy, of course, is probably the best at it due to it being his only form of communication."

Chiron blinked slowly, but otherwise didn't react. He propped his elbows on his knees, interlaced his fingers, and then rested his chin on them. Percy was a tad envious. The Trainer of Heroes was so calm, and Percy guessed it was from centuries of hearing bad news about those he trained. "Percy." He stated. "Is it short for something?"

Artemis cursed in her head. (It was quite the vocabulary and he was sure she didn't mean for him to hear it.) He felt like spewing creative not-so-good words too. Shouldn't he have thought about using an alias? He knew that he was a reincarnate. A reincarnate of the famous Percy Jackson, savior of Olympus. Twice over.

"yes." Short. Simple. And Chiron can't directly question a goddess. "For Perseus." And there it is. He didn't think Artemis would deny him being Perseus, but he didn't think would flat-out say it. "He is the reincarnate of Perseus Jackson, savior of Olympus."

Now Chiron reacted.

His eyes bugged out a bit. He started coughing一 did he choke on his spit? Percy hated that. 一heavily. And he almost (appeared) to fall out of his chair. Finally he calmed himself.

"Really? This Percy is truly the reincarnate of the last?"

Artemis nodded.

_Percy you may establish your link now._

He nodded in acknowledgment to his patron. He felt his eyes close instinctually as he delved quickly into his mind. He passed the now-docile Mares in the stables he made for them, who snorted in greeting, (he waved back), and headed straight to the Frays.

He knelt down and touched an empty black ribbon and then felt out with his senses to find another presence he wasn't familiar with.

Old. Ageless. Kind. Ruthless.

Chiron was very contradictory, but it was comforting, the indecision. It was comforting to know that somebody had a genuine set of emotions.

Gently, he pulled at Chiron's mind, which gave way and stretched very easily like all immortal minds do, and 'sewed' it to the lifeless ribbon of his mind. Chiron's ribbon changed colors, flickering constantly, until it settled on a light, calm blue. A little sad, but calm and content.

He emerged from his mindscape just as quietly as he went in, and, even though it took most to hours to create a link, it took him seconds.

_Hello, Chiron, trainer of heroes._

Chiron started and looked around the room. Percy forced a small grin on his face and put his hand in the air halfway, like a child that doesn't really want to answer the teacher's question.

_That was me. Sorry for manipulating the shape of your mind without your knowledge. It's hard to explain what I would like to do without speaking._

"It's alright. I understand your reasons."

Artemis smiled. "Great, now I would like for you to explore." (Translation: Get out of my sight and complete your mission or else I'll make you hunt for food for the entire Hunt and their appetites.) He was very adept at reading in between the lines, so he upped himself and trudged to the front door. Just because he knew when to leave didn't mean he had to like it.

Apollo's chariot shone brightly, making him squint in what he imagined a very attractive way, i.e. not at all. Thankfully they adjusted quickly. Now. Where to go? She said to explore, so he didn't have to go straight to the cabin.

"Hey, you!" He blinked out of his thoughts when he heard a loudly projected voice. "You, the boy with black hair and the cool scar."

That was clearly him. Who was shouting?

A girl, around his age walked up to him with a smile on her face that made his brain go a little fuzzy. She was pretty; it was kind of hard to ignore that fact. She had chocolate brown hair just down past her shoulders that curled slightly at the ends, hazel eyes hanging closer to the green side of the spectrum, and skin that wasn't pale一 she had color 一but it wasn't nearly as tan as the other campers. Overall, she looked like a warm, down to earth person.

"My name's Salene. Undetermined, but I have a feeling it'll happen soon." She stuck out her hand, and he grabbed it to shake. "What's your name? Godly parent? And are you immortal because of being in Lady Artemis' Hunt?"

He held up a finger, the universal sign for, "Hold on a moment." Surprisingly, her mind was pretty easy to pull and attach to his, but not as malleable as Chiron's.

_I can't speak aloud because my vocal cords were damaged when my father tried to kill me. And no, my oath's different._

"Woah, cool! You're in my head! What's your name?"

_Percy. And my godly parent apparently doesn't exist._

"Yikes, that's rough. Did she fade, or somethin'?"

_I don't think so._

"If it makes you feel better, my mom is the major question about my life, too."

_We could probably figure it out._

"That would be awesome, but first, a tour of Camp." She grabbed his wrist and dragged him after her, pointing at major 'attractions' as she went.

The lava-spewing rock wall, the lake, the amphitheater, the magic plates, and the Olympian cabins.

Gods, if this went on, he wouldn't be able to play in the Capture the Flag game tonight. (He was also informed about that and its rules by Salene.) Maybe that was her plan.

_Should we sit down now? _He phrased it as a question, but he meant "Sit down."

"OH," she blushed, "yeah. I forgot." She gave a laugh. "We can sit and get to know each other better now." They sat down under a tree a little ways in the forest.

"So . . ."

_So . . . _It was awkward trying to make conversation when they had a goal of talking to each other. Now that he thought about it, any time he specifically wanted to talk about something to someone and they knew the topic, it was awkward. Weird.

"What's your favorite color?" She hesitantly asked, then added with a slightly more confident wink, "That's my go-to icebreaker question."

He lunged on the topic. _What's your icebreaker statement? Mine is, 'The sky is blue.'_

She laughed. "That's so idiotically simple I can see why it would break the awkwardness surrounding two more-than-likely-awkward people."

He pretended to look hurt. _Are you calling me awkward? That really hurts. I thought you were better than a low blow! _He finished by dramatically falling back and clutching the area of his chest above his heart.

"Get up, you idiot." He could hear the smile in her voice.

_So tell me, what are your skills. The position as my friend is very prestigious. You must have an excellent resume if you didn't come here with any recommendations._

She rolled her eyes, but he was proud of his smooth change of subject. "Well, Mr. 一"

_Please, call me Percy._

" 一Percy. I have photographic memory from my dad, so I'll be able to remember your birthday."

_Irrelevant._

She scowled at him. "I can look into people's memories. I can erase people's memories. And I can implant false memories."

_Seems like the common theme is memory._

"Yeah, I know! Weird, huh?"

_What immortal deities have the domain of memory? _ He asked patiently, waiting for her to catch up with his line of thought.

He was willing to cut her some slack on the super-intelligence department. Not everyone had the time to sit back, watching and waiting and thinking like he did. Others had to talk and plan and learn through failure.

"Hera. And Mnemosyne."

_And Hera, as the goddess of marriage also . . . _He trailed off, looking at her expectantly.

"So my mom's Mnemosyne!"

A deep grey light flooded the area, and he stared at the hologram above Salene's head. The symbol of Mnemosyne.

**Aso you can see, I didn't specifically write what the the symbol of Mnemosyne was. It's because when I was researching, I couldn't find anything telling me explicitly what it was. One site went off on this big rant using Monty Pithon-esque thinking, but I don't think they were right. Send me ideas for the symbol, and I'll change the ending to add that in. Next chapter comes on Friday, like usual.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry this is short (and late), but I liked where it ended. The next one will hopefully be longer. If you have any requests for POV's, let me know. Leave a review please! I like posting because sometimes people help me improve my writing, don't be afraid to critique! Thanks for reading.**

**Don't own PJO or HoO**

**Third Person Limited: Salene's POV**

"Chiron!" Salene yelled excitedly一 and loudly as she ran up to the Big House. Finally she had been claimed, she knew who her mom was. Percy, her new best friend, she decided, helped, and, gods, she was so excited she felt like she was floating. It couldn't be real. She felt like she was watching someone else's life, not hers.

Percy was somewhere behind her, following at a pace too slow for her liking. "Chiron." She said in a much quieter voice this time. The centaur was sitting in his wheelchair, chatting with Artemis and Dionysus. Quickly, she curtsied slightly, "Lady Artemis." The goddess nodded back

"Hey, what about the director of this cam一"

"What is it, child?" He asked curiously, but not unkindly, probably wondering why she would run uphill while shouting like a madwoman.

_Wait for me, they'll want proof._

That made sense, she could wait. A smile spread across her face. "We have to wait for Percy." She looked down sheepishly. "I, uh, kind of ran ahead, and . . . yeah." She was remorseful, truly, but the smile wouldn't leave her face. She had been the outsider of Camp. There was this law that the gods had to claim their children by the time they were thirteen, and every god got a cabin. She was almost fourteen.

Artemis' eyes twinkled with mirth. "Did you outrun him? If you did, I need to train him harder."

Her eyes widened. "No! He was just walking, and I didn't want to walk because I was excited." She spotted him coming up the hill, walking at a leisurely pace. "See! Walking, not out of breath."

"Percy!" His head shot up at the sound of his name. "Speed up, boy. This maiden has good news to share." The moon goddess commanded.

_I'm coming._

She was about to yell, too, but he was suddenly there. Right in front of her. No flash of light like a god, no excess shadows like a son of Hades. He just created a new form of instant travel. And, she noted with dismay, he looked a little green.

_That was intense._

Artemis stood up out of concern as he put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself.

"If you're going to be sick, puke over there." She pointed in a vague direction away from all of the people. That was about as concerned as she could be.

"Percy, are you alright? What did you just do?" See, Lady Artemis had it covered.

He must have said something to her because she sunk back into her chair, but all Salene heard was, _Go on, tell them._

"I was claimed!" She bounced on her toes. "My mom is Mnemosyne."

Chiron smiled at her. "That's wonderful, my dear, but we must have proof."

Her grin and exuberance faded a little. She knew Percy said they would want proof, but she didn't think they would write her off if she couldn't provide it. She looked at her new best friend, at a loss for what to do. Could she talk to him like he talked to her. Deep breath. Concentrate.

_PERCY, HELP ME!_

He flinched back away from her.

_Hey, now. Inside thoughts only. This mind link is a classy and safe place._

She rolled her eyes. _Fine, sorry. What do I say?_

_First say what happened and explain how I'm a witness._

"Okay, so, Percy and I were talking after I gave him a tour of Camp. You know, typical potential best friend speak," Artemis smiled with pride, "and the topic came to my powers. Percy noticed that they all had to do with memory, so we listed all of the deities with that domain (Hera and Mnemosyne), and then BOOM! Percy saw the hologram thingy that floats over the claimed's head." She was proud. She said that whole spiel in one breath, she didn't spray it, and she didn't speak ridiculously fast.

_How do they know I saw the hologram?_

Mr. D began to open his mouth to speak, probably going to point out what Percy did in a ruder way, no doubt meant to leave her in tears, but, thankfully, she spoke in time to save her happy emotional state and pretend that she didn't notice she interrupted the wine god. Dman. She was good.

"And I can prove it by using my powers, further proving my heritage, even if I altered the memory, by projecting Percy's memory of the scene."

Chiron looked proud, Artemis looked impressed, and Mr. D called her bluff.

"Why don't you quit blathering and show us, brat?" He sneered, causing a gross facial expression to contort his face.

Problem. Red alert. Fire drill. She never actually tried doing it before. Mr. D was smirking like he knew he had won, and a fierce fire burned in her heart. She wanted to prove him wrong if it was the last thing she did.

_I don't know how I know, but I can help you._

It was official. Percy was now her bestest friend ever. In her life. In her next life. And in her next next life. And when they reached Isles of the Blest. It was all planned out, now she just had to fill him in . . .

_I'm going to create a screen on the ribbon in your mind. Put the memory there._

OH, right. Busy. Maybe later? Or just forget about it?

She nodded and grabbed his hand. He was a cute boy, but she was only holding his hand for physical contact that helped her access memories. Focus.

She sent her mind traveling about the twisted ribbon incredibly fast. It felt like she was watching one of those films that recorded normal events and then played them on super fast-forward. Colors started popping up, flashing by faster than she could blink. Something hard hit her in the face. She woozily stumbled around on shaky feet.

What was that?

A door. A big heavy door meant for keeping people out.

She turned around. She could only see twenty feet or so of Percy's mind behind her. What was behind the door shocked her. Nothing. Blank space as far as she could see.

The little shitface locked her out of his mind! How was she supposed to get the memory now?

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a misty version of what happened in the woods materialized. Grumbling, she pinched the memory in her grasp and begun the journey back to the link to throw it at the screen. It actually wasn't a heavy memory like the others she had erased from the campers' minds. Those were full of death and agony and fear, but this was happy and light. A nice change.

She didn't know what she would do when she finished showing the punk's memory, besides talking to him about her rude stop and the bruise that would no doubt form shortly after leaving. But, she did know she would hit him. Hard. In the nose.

**R&R**


	9. Chapter 8

**Don't own PJO or HoO**

**Third Person Limited: Percy's POV**

_Step One: Kill the Titans._

"The blue team will be the campers and the red will be the Hunters. Blue team gets the west side of the creek, red team the east. No intentional maiming. No killing. I will be the field medic. The game will start in one hour, go!"

Percy surged forward with the Hunters as they sprinted to their territory.

_Percy_, Thalia said, _have you noticed any weaknesses while getting a tour?_

He nodded at once, no hesitation. _They have a daughter of Mnemosyne, very adept at erasing memories, watch out for her. The Ares children are quick to anger and will more than likely be put on the offensive. They get sloppy when they get mad, by the way. And I created a new form of instant travel._

Phoebe rolled her eyes, _That's not exactly just camper weaknesses. _She criticized.

_It's useful info. _He shot back.

_Wait a second! _Melanie, a mortal who joined the Hunt after the Giant War, like a lot of the others. _Did you say you 'created a new form of instant travel'?_

Percy scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, he told them like he was supposed to, but he had hoped that they wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

_Uh. yeah. I did, no flash, no trace, no sound._

Thalia looked at him with a slightly insane glint in her eyes, the look he associated with one of her crazy plans that always backfired on him.

She hadn't even said anything, and he was nervous. "Wreak havoc. Give them no time to plan or prepare. Then come back to defend the flag with Phoebe and Stacy."

He was going to protest, it almost felt like cheating to him, and Thalia could probably tell because she said, "In war, people use sabotage all the time." _And silent communication could be considered a vague form of cheating, too._

Percy's head drooped in defeat. _Fine. I'll go, but just so you all know, this travel thing__一 __which needs a name__一 __is tiring. You owe me, like, five favors, Thalia._

"Don't care. Just go ruin their hopes and dreams and crush their souls." She waved a hand at him flippantly.

He rolled his eyes at her apathy. Anger has better uses in battle as long as it didn't cloud the mind. So, just a little insult then.

_Sure thing, thunder butt._

Her eyes widened as she glared, and he would've been scared, really, but Thalia's nostrils flared when she was angry. That combined with the fact that she tipped her head back a bit when she was shocked . . .

He'll just say he could see pretty far up her nose.

"You little br_一_"

He closed his eyes and followed the bright, grass green ribbon connecting to Salene's mind right as Thalia lunged forward to throttle him. He hoped she landed on her face, that would make her even more mad.

He appeared right behind his new best friend. Thankfully, she was at the edge of the crowd, so no one noticed him.

"_一_e'll then storm the Hunters." A daughter of Athena (he could tell by her grey eyes and the way her aura screamed 'I know everything') was saying. "Any questions so far?"

Nobody raised their hands.

She sighed. "'Right, then. I'll just reiterate. We split into four groups: archers in the trees, Ares and Athena on the ground, the group of five that will go for the flag, and Hephaestus will guard_一_"

He'd heard enough to put the pieces together.

Casually, like he didn't have a care in the world, Percy leaned on Salene's shoulder. _Seems like a good plan._

"Yeah, we asked Annabeth for_一_" She shoved him off of her abruptly. "Spy!"

He looked around until the others spotted him. He gasped like the insinuation hurt him as he put a hand on his chest with a questioning expression on his face. A classic way of communicating, 'Who, me?'

All Hades broke loose.

"Get him!"

Concentrate.

He was suddenly standing by the leader of the team (the daughter of Athena that was saying the plan). Some people screamed. Some gave dramatic war cries. He stuck his tongue out and wiggled his fingers while his thumbs were in his ears, the motion he saw taunting kid make three weeks ago. It was pretty funny. The group quickly rushed to him.

_Why are they charging that poor Athenian girl? _He asked Salene.

"Stop!" He heard her yell, it was pretty loud, and he could safely assume that she was agitated, even when his vision was impaired due to the massive green leaves of the tree he was hiding in. "I'll just erase his memory of the plan."

"How?" Some idiot Ares boy with dark brown hair and a cyclops-like physique asked. Percy automatically felt the strong urge to punch him in the face. Didn't Chiron make a public announcement every time someone was claimed?

"Daughter of Mnemosyne." She replied simply. "Now, if all of you could kindly shut up, I'd like to work in peace."

The crowd quieted, even the heavy brawns of the group. Salene could be pretty commanding when she grew a backbone. And he meant that in the nicest way possible, she was just shy otherwise. Salene closed her eyes tightly. Almost immediately, he could feel clumsy fingers probing around for his mind.

She was really skilled. Too bad he had this integrated in his plan from the get-go. It was his turn to concentrate now. Creation, he realized, was his key word. He couldn't _make_ things, but he could _create_ things. He could see what he needed in his mindscape to pull this hair brained scheme off.

A small black speaker around the size of a brick lay close to the Frays by Salene's slot. When she found the connection and sent her powers his way, he would catch them with the recorder (that conveniently appeared as he went over his plan) and return and amplify them to the others with the speaker.

Wispy, see-through links unfurled and flew to wind around the Frays. Temporary links. Brand new, straight out of the think tank. Afterall, he didn't want to have these people permanently attached to his brain.

Percy blinked back into the real world. Salene was taking a while, he noted as he watched her standing completely still, maybe he would reach out to her, just a little. Just enough to make the process go faster, but not enough to tip her off the he was helping.

Salene smirked as he allowed the Frays to extend out farther. She thought she was victorious. Percy felt a pang of remorse, he was tricking her into thinking she won. He wasn't acting like a best friend.

He shook off the wayward thoughts as soon as they sprouted. This was just a game, not the real world. And if the Hunters didn't win, it was on him. And Thalia was scary. And Artemis would be disappointed.

His brain tickled as Salene raced over the link, it was like a trickle of water. Instinctively, he knew that the water-like feeling was supposed to be a representation of the Lethe. Percy quickly locked away his mind in a single door, the same one from the last time she came, actually. He was pretty sure that she knew what a regular mind looked like, and his was a perfect example of an abnormal brain's setup.

Salene's wisp appeared in front of his door.

_My gods, again!_ She complained and stamped her foot on the ground as a petulant child would. Percy thought she seemed exasperated. She didn't like the door.

Salene huffed and screwed her eyes shut once more, this time in her corporeal form. Her memory of the events that just occurred shimmered into existence next to her like an Iris-Message. It played through on a loop and on silent.

He knew that she wasn't really singing in his mind, it was just the easiest way for him to picture her powers working, but that's what he saw. A random girl standing next to a floating picture, singing to a recorder she couldn't see. (He wondered_一 _briefly_一_ what that had to say about his sanity stability to a mortal doctor. Would he be insane? Or just weird?)

Salene stopped with her eyes wide. Uh oh. She had caught on.

_Oh, you little . . . Percy!_ She shouted in his mind. And, ouch. _You are a dead man walking._

He commanded a representative to speak for him. _Not if I help win the game. Thalia owes me a lot of favors. _She gave him a nasty look. _Anyways, want to go check out our handy work?_

_So I really . . .?_

He nodded.

_Gods . . . _She facepalmed.

He nodded 'sympathetically'.

**Next chapter will explain the whole 'step one' thing. The Capture the Flag chapter is really big, but if I get an overwhelming demand, I'll just tag on the rest to this chapter. (But I don't see a point.) Expect more chapters next friday. Probably at least 2! See ya then.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Second part to the Capture the Flag game.**

**Don't own PJO or HoO.**

**Third Person Limited: Percy's POV**

Both he and Salene fought their way out of their trances simultaneously. Percy felt a little fuzzy and couldn't think perfectly clear, but he his body switched over to autopilot as soon as he registered that fact. No more instant travel until he was trying to get back to his team.

"Percy!" He jumped, nearly falling out of his perch. "Are you coming out? I promise not to kill you until the game starts."

_On the Styx?_

He didn't know for sure, but he had a feeling she was grinding her teeth in irritation. "Sure. I swear on the Styx." A clap of thunder echoed her forced truthfulness.

Percy had planned (originally, before he got all . . . 'bleh') to just jump out of the tree and land in a dramatic pose, but then decided to just climb down instead. Neither of those things happened. His fingers cramped, his feet slipped, and he fell flat on his back. He laid there for a moment, contemplating just how much he really wanted to win the game. The patch of dirt he was on wasn't soft, but his muscles had just relaxed and he didn't want to get up. Ever. Or at least until he had a nap.

"Smooth." Salene's voice was full of laughter. How could she be so awake at this ungodly hour of four in the afternoon? "You getting up today?"

_No, I don't think so. I would rather lay here and sleep._

"You big wuss!"

_With power comes the great need for a nap._

"Where'd you get that bull from?" She said good-naturedly.

He didn't actually know. He had thought he heard something like that before, but he couldn't remember who said it. Which was weird, now that he thought about it, he typically could remember things pretty well.

_No clue. Help me up please._

She sighed and was suddenly standing over him, offering a helping hand. He grasped it tightly and pulled himself to his feet slowly.

"Dang your heavy. What d'ya eat, bricks?"

_Why is your head missing some? _** _Oh, wow._

The campers were in various stages of waking up, some had pressed a hand to their forehead as if to keep their head from exploding. They stumbled to their feet like a bunch of drunks and grouped back together in the exact same positions as before.

"So, what's the plan?" Some kid, probably Hermes, asked the girl Percy had used earlier as a distraction.

A horn sounded far off, deeper in the forest. It curled around the campers and sent them into a dumbfounded stupor. He felt a brief flash of pity for them. They were more than likely complaining in their heads about the time passing too quickly, and they hadn't even gotten to plan. Darn. Percy set his train of thought on the right track when Salene turned to him with a malicious look underlined with deviousness on her face.

"Percy," she shook her head and tutted at him softly while shaking her head in mock disappointment. "You shouldn't have made yourself so tired. You see," she added when she noticed his confused expression, "the game has started."

Shit.

Find Phoebe. Find Phoebe. Where's_一_? Ah, there.

In a rush, he grasped Phoebe's ribbon mentally and pulled himself to where she was with all his strength. His mind felt weak, and the arms he pictured in his mind to make the process run smoothly trembled with strain. He made it, but barely.

After this game, he would force Thalia to owe him double and then pass out for several days. (In reality, Thalia would cut her favors in half and Lady Artemis would wake him up a few hours later to pack up to head out.) It was a nice dream.

_Out of commission. _He hoped no further explanation would be necessary, he was on the brink of shutdown. Total unconsciousness. If the swaying world, limited brain function, and the black creeping along the edges of his vision were any tells to go by, at least.

Phoebe nodded briskly at him and told Stacy_一 _a moderately tall mortal with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes_一_ to grab him some ambrosia or nectar. That was why he liked Phoebe. She knew how to assess a situation to get the answers she needed to solve any questions she had. And she didn't waste time on small talk. A pointless fact that made her Percy's favorite sister. (The gods knew how horrible he was at making small talk.)

Percy sat down fully, leaning back against a very convenient tree, and nodded his thanks to her. Carefully, he rested his head and let his eyes drift shut so he could analyze his condition.

With his eyes shut, he noticed, the dizziness didn't bother him. He felt achy all over, like the first time he ran with the Hunt nonstop for an entire night to follow prey. He was thinking more lucid now, but he wouldn't be able to speak until he healed a little bit, in fact, he wouldn't be able to use any of his other mental powers until he had at least a few hours of sleep under his belt.

Leaves crunched a bit off to the side of the small clearing and, for a moment, Percy panicked, although he didn't show it. (Had the campers recovered their wits so quickly after that fiasco? How?) But it was only Stacy returning. He could tell by the plastic bag that was being pressed into his hands. He didn't bother to open his eyes, just blindly fumbled with the opening and dug around for a square of the godly food. Half a piece later, he could stand up without feeling nauseous. And he could open his eyes. He felt like bragging.

Stacy walked aimlessly in circles around the silver flag they had attached to a young sapling in the middle of their small clearing.

"I'm going to walk the perimeter. Be back after."

Phoebe gave her a small nod in acknowledgment before turning to face him, smirking slightly.

Gods. What was going to happen now?

"After the game," she told him, "Lady Artemis told me to take you to meet a few of the older campers here that can't play in the game. She wants to try to see if memories can come back from a past life."

_Great. I'm an experiment._ He grumbled lightheartedly.

Phoebe chuckled but defended their Lady. "It could be valuable information for Olympus in the future."

_I know, just kidding._

The same horn that started the game went off once more, the reverberation making the sound much more menacing in the still woods.

"That, I'm not going to lie, was a much quicker game than usual. Good work, Percy." He jumped, startled by Stacy's voice floating ahead of her as she padded out of the treeline. "We should go meet up with the others and get you," she directed to him, "to a bed. I believe we leave tomorrow."

$#$#$

"The Hunters win again, keeping their streak going. What are we on now Lady Artemis?"

"At least seventy-two, I think, Chiron." Rebecca interjected quickly when she saw the grave look on Artemis' face.

He quirked an eyebrow, "Very well." He looked around at his group of students. "I think I need to up your training." Groans of despair followed accordingly.

"Hunters! Meet me in the Big House. Chiron, call the head counselors as well. I have news to report from Athena."

Chiron sobered immediately. "Of course. You all heard her, campers! Go get your counselors."

_Percy, get your stuff before you come. Let the others know. We will leave straight after._

English was so confusing. Could someone leave crooked after? Why can't people be just whelmed? How come he could say 'Right away!', but not 'Left away!'? Stupid. Get back on track.

He nodded in response then turned to Thalia. _Pack your stuff before you go to the meeting. We leave after, tell the others._

He didn't bother staying long enough to see her response to his version of Artemis' command, he just picked up the pace to the cabin. And to think they hadn't even been here for twenty-four hours yet. Gods. They hadn't even been here for a day yet.

It felt like forever. He'd made a lasting impression, insulted a useless god, made a new friend, and won a game. Jeez.

Absentmindedly, he grabbed his shrinking duffle_一_ still packed_一 _and yanked on the zipper twice. The bag deflated slowly, like a bounce house does when the air has been turned off, then began folding in on itself over and over. When it was finally the size of a square penny, he pocketed it. Then he checked for his bow and quiver (which turned into a black crescent moon outline on his forearm whenever said symbol was pressed on. All Hunters had one to keep travel light.) and his sword. He hadn't practiced much with it lately, but he still kept it on him in its concealed form (a tattoo of antlers from a stag, right below the crescent). All were present, like usual, he just liked to make sure.

All done with packing, he headed to the Big House for the meeting. He walked behind this group of seven older demigods, three boys and four girls. They looked to be in their late twenties to early thirties, except for one boy and one girl. They looked about eighteen. They looked vaguely familiar, like maybe Percy had seen them on the streets while passing through a city. He couldn't tell for sure because they didn't walk backwards, but he had a feeling.

He ducked his head back down and continued on silently to find the ping-pong table. That room looked big enough to hold this many people.

He got there before the rush of people sure to come and had a wide selection of choices for his spot. Lady Artemis made eye-contact with him and nodded to a shelf he could sit on in a secluded corner. Perfect. He scrambled up the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. He hunched over and let the shadows cloak him like a heavy blanket.

He could see the whole room, which was good for him along with the moon goddess. It was good for him because he didn't trust easily and was practically invisible. It was good for her because she probably wanted him to watch for any possible suspicious behavior. It was an unspoken agreement between them. He would get to hide and she would get extra information.

The seven he had passed walking in milled about still talking before settling down into seats. Percy could see their faces clearly now. There was a blonde man with a small scar on his top lip that sat next to (and held hands with) the woman with chocolate brown hair and eyes that never stayed one color. There was this one lady in their group that made his head ache. Her blonde hair was curled and she had story grey eyes. A child of Athena for sure. Was this the one the campers asked for help from? Anna-something? Percy shook his head and moved on. There were two other couples. The one that looked eighteen (a girl with cinnamon hair in a single braid and a Latino with slightly pointed ears) and the one that had the really buff dude. He looked to be of Asian descent and had a short, militaristic haircut. His other half had long curly brown hair and gold eyes.

They all made his head hurt. Especially that Anna-something. He furrowed his eyebrows then scanned the rest of the room. It was full, surprisingly. He didn't think he was studying the group that long.

"Good, everyone is here. You may tell us your news now mi'lady." Chiron said with mild content.

"My sister Athena recently informed that while on a routine check on the Titans to prevent any unwanted incedents, she discovered that all Titans in Tartarus are now gone."

The room almost exploded into outraged cries. He could tell that's what the campers wanted to do, but Artemis wasn't finished. And she was intimidating.

"She looked further and found that they were dead. Never to come back. There is possibly a new threat to Olympus."

Then chaos ensued.

* * *

**Sorry guys. I ran into some major writers' block and just barely finished this chapter today. If by some miracle I finish the next chapter today I'll post it, but looks like I'll just post again next Friday. Don't forget to leave me a review. LET ME KNOW IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES! I don't reread as much as I should. I just write, then post. Thanks for reading, guys.**

**Hey, random question. Do you guys have any idea who you think his mom is? I want to know if I made it too obvious.**


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